I looked elsewhere on the board and couldn't find a thread for this so I thought maybe I'd risk it and start a new one... I've seen a number of these on THAT auction site lately and think I would like to add one to my turn of the century loco stable (be nice to have something that runs as nice as it looks (the rest of the stable are Bachmann americans)). Is this a practical prototype for a New England,late 1800's engine. I am thinking about a layout set in the 1870's to 1880's (freelanced) and want to make decent equipment choices. I love the look of the Bachmann engines, especially after some re-working, but am very dissappointed by their performance. How is the little Atlas mogul? Could you switch with it? Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback. Chris Mears Charlottetown, PEI
Chris...Moguls were first built in the early 1850s. Production ended just after the turn of the century so I believe the 1870s & 1880s would work. As far as switching, I think they were designed for freight & passenger service because the extra drivers provided more tractive effort. On the other hand, it's your railroad and if the railroad's 1870 finances were such that a Mogul had to double as a freight hauler AND switcher, then you do what you can with available equipment. In real life, I don't think it was well-suited for switching because some of the tenders were pretty tall, blocking the engineer's view. This could become tedious if used day after day as a switcher....in my opinion. Cam
Chris, Here is a recent thread on this nice little engine: http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/9/t/007575.html#000004
The locomotive runs nicely, but it hates plastic frog switches. It does not hate them as much as the B-mann eight-wheeler hates them, but almost as much. If you wanted to switch with it, you would have to add a pilot coupler. There is a rather large deck on the pilot that perhaps could accomodate a Z scale coupler (an N scale MT would look EXTRA clunky on this one), but you would have to cover it up with a toolbox or something. It is based on an 1870s prototype that was built in the United States, but sold to Japan, but it looks enough like a US protoype that it is acceptable for US roads. I used to think that the B-perssonn eight wheeler was a pathetic locomotive until I spent some time with one and tinkered a bit and ran it in for a LONG time. I now have a few that will hold a steady ten SMPH. I also stopped running them over plastic frog switches. The only thing that I find still annoying is that they do tend to bob. Have you considered the MDC consolidated or mogul? Or the Athearn consolidated (it is the same as the MDC 2-8-0)? They represent late 1880s to 1890s prototypes and run well.
I've tinkered with mine a lot. Mine doesn't need to pull much, but it does have to run slowly and smoothly. I added a rear tender weight under the added 'coalpile' - that helped a lot. I added a .010 wire wiper to pick up one more side of the front tender truck, that helped a little. Changed the drawbar over to hard wires. That helped the most, surprisingly. I've got lots of plastic frog switches and slow speed, and now it's a 'keeper', even though it will never pull much up my 4% grades. As far as the Bachmann; the tender wheels are a disaster. I've had two and scrapped both. I've never figured out a way to fix it myself. Nobody ever mimiced that design, I'll tell you. The rest of the mechanism isn't that bad... but that tender pickup system.... [ April 06, 2006, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: randgust ]
Chris- The last time I looked, there is no prohibition at Trainboard against mentioning the word E-BAY. [ April 06, 2006, 10:02 AM: Message edited by: Fotheringill ]
Chris: Th Atlas 2-6-0 is a very nice small loco and would fit your timeframe. It doesn't have the ability to pull many cars however. Stay cool and run steam.....
Thanks for the replies guys. I really like the look of this little model and I already guessed the part about the running vs. plastics turnouts (no worries I am handlaying my own live turnouts). I would need to explore front coupler options for the model. The type of switching I am thinking of is wayfreight switching. Not really much in the yard. I am picturing a shortline with only a few dedicated customers. One of those pre-CNR nationalization lines (Hampton and St.Martins, Cobourg and Peterborough Railroad, et al). So slow running and ability to poke some cars into sidings is a very good thing. Chris
The photos I've seen of old-style 2-6-0's in yard service often changed their pilots to a switcher style. Same thing happened when they got moved to loggers. So with that Atlas one, you might be best off to put a different front sill on, instead of trying to jam the coupler in the long cowcatcher. Seems to me there was a cast metal one out there... RLW probably has it but their server is offline.
I agree. I have a Bachmann american near the workbench right now and the promise of more on the way. I would like to think about adding a freight pilot to the front of one of them. I thinking about a line with a turntable at both ends anyway, this detail may get me out of the coupler issue. Failing that I might just follow in the link and pin fiasco I noticed elsewhere on this board (VBG) and try that out. Then all I'd have to do is add a longer link to the front pilot...
If you check the photos, you will find that "cowcatchers" were used with link & pin couplers. There was a bar that was held clamped on the central spoke, and was brought up when hooking to a car. You can see it here, in black, on the bright red cowcatcher pilot: You will have a bear of a time adding a Janney coupler to something never designed to have one. [ April 06, 2006, 02:48 PM: Message edited by: Tony Burzio ]
Yes, you could put a MicroTrains coupler on the front, but it's kinda big. The pilot on your model is a switcher pilot, not a cowcatcher type. Guess why the pilot type was changed on later steamers? Yep, so you can put in a Janey coupler...
This was built with a Atlas 2-6-0 and this is still the Atlas cowcatcher, but modified a little. the coupler is Z scale: http://www.railimages.com/albums/chrisschmuck/acu.sized.jpg http://www.railimages.com/albums/chrisschmuck/aei.sized.jpg It is a working coupler, but without trip pin. If a car was to couple to it, the car would also need the trip pin removed. All my trip pins are removed. I now have another Atlas 2-6-0, it's nice, but I don't know if I would call it a switcher.
Yes, you could put a MicroTrains coupler on the front, but it's kinda big. The pilot on your model is a switcher pilot, not a cowcatcher type. Guess why the pilot type was changed on later steamers? Yep, so you can put in a Janney coupler... </font>[/QUOTE]That is NOT a switcher pilot (with footboards), it is the pilot designed for use on the Rivarossi Pacific and Mikado. It is referred to as a "boiler tube" pilot.
You could easily install a MT Z scale #905 coupler on the front pilot of the Atlas 2-6-0 and will look in proprtion to the rest of the loco. Tony: Gregg did that coupler installation long before the # MT Z scale 905's were available. He did a very nice job on that installation. Stay cool and run steam.....
